Observation is a great way to learn...

Spent Friday afternoon at Devonwood watching the Championships (there was "Open", too) for the "A" level Dressage of the Oregon Dressage Society.

The thing I really enjoy about Dressage shows is the quiet atmosphere. I comment on it often. There is pleasant music and a relaxed atmosphere...Ideal for showing... since RELAXATION should be STAPLE in EVERYDAY RIDING!!! And particularly emphasized at horse shows.

So, ask yourself...how often do you offer a relaxed attitude for your horse? Too often we have a limited time in which to squeeze in a ride. We throw the tack on, hop on the horse, send him/her through the paces, hop off, and throw him/her back to where he/she came from. The horse begans and ends his/her interaction with we humans, in an uptight, hurried manner that WE PROVIDE!!!! How much fun is that???

Interactions with our horses should be pleasant for all involved, especially the horse.

Do an experiment the next time you go to play with your horse. Take all the time in the world that the horse needs to have a moment to breathe.

Meaning: Put his/her halter on and WAIT for a SIGN of RELAXATION. It may be a big sigh, a head shake, a quiet stance, or, most preferred, the "chew."

Then expect the horse to stand quietly while being groomed. To often, we humans miss the subtlties of horse behavior when we allow them to walk all over the top of us! and be generally rude to our requests. All that fidgety behavior is...is an expression of the horse's dominance over us. That crap is NOT OK. We should be ALPHA, no matter what. Having the expectation of your horse behaving gives him/her the parameters of HOW TO BEHAVE. Another form to allow relaxation. The horse knows what to expect.

Now comes the hard part. After your horse is tacked up and waiting to be ridden... have him/her wait some more...and YOU wait, again, for that sign of relaxation...

This is a skill that may take a while to learn. Only because we ourselves, humans, don't know how to relax and be in the moment with our selves, let alone our horses.

And hopefully, this is whhere th AHA! moment appears. Only by changing what we do as a humans, can we influence what our horses do as equines. That is where the true learning and training begins...with ourselves...making it better for our horses and building what we really want...a deep and close relationship with our favorite friends.